Natural hazards · Appleton

Appleton, MN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Appleton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1997. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Appleton?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Appleton to be higher than in 29% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding41%Cold waves22%Heat waves8%Hail8%Tornadoes7%Strong wind7%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Appleton faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Appleton flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Appleton, from FEMA’s records.

2paid claims since 1997

$87Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19972026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Appleton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Swift County.

Disasters that hit Appleton

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Appleton itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Appleton.

Brought FEMA money into AppletonDeclared for Swift County only

2022

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$53K to the City of Appleton for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$79K to the City of Appleton for repairs

Swift County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Appleton is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Appleton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Appleton. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.